The BT ISDN Switch-Off: What Does It Mean for Your Business?

What’s Going on with ISDN and PSTN?

The decision appears to be driven by BT’s desire to unify their services under their national IP network; including voice, video, data, and broadcasting. Rather than trying to support separate infrastructures, BT want to shift their focus entirely to maintaining their most profitable and promising network.

Aside from this, BT have also commented on the increasing redundancy of ISDN and PSTN. Both ISDN and PSTN require a lot of infrastructure and equipment to support them, that needs to be upgraded regularly to stay functional, which makes maintaining the network expensive for everyone. So deciding to move their entire customer base over to their IP network seems like a smart move in the long run.

So why is this relevant to your business?

If your business uses an ISDN or PSTN phone system, then the infrastructure is most likely owned by BT, even if your telecommunications are being supplied by another company (BT own all of Vodafone’s landlines for example).  This means that come 2025, your ISDN/PSTN system will become defunct and will need to be replaced.

If you’re already planning to replace your ISDN/PSTN system right now, then BT’s decision to switch off their network should give your business a good indication of what the future of telecommunications looks like. Choosing to implement an ISDN or PSTN phone system, promises any number of problems down the line.

Why Move from ISDN/PSTN to VoIP?

The alternative to ISDN/PSTN is VoIP, or voice over internet protocol. Rather than running your voice connection over ISDN or PSTN lines, VoIP connects over an internet line such as ASDL, fibre, or Ethernet.

Unlike ISDN and PSTN, VoIP does not require installation and maintenance of a traditional PBX system; instead, transfers are made to a server stored offsite and managed by the service provider. This means that installations are faster, and supporting VoIP is more affordable for both service provider and business owner.

Additionally, VoIP does not suffer from the limitations of a ISDN/PSTN system. There are no caps on how many channels (employees) you can have connected to your hosted PBX, which not only makes adding numbers to your phone system simple, but also ensures that your communications remain future-proof. Unlike ISDN/PSTN PBX, VoIP’s hosted PBX can be upgraded gradually, without the need for expensive changes in infrastructure.

Aside from being a more affordable and future-proof communications solution, VoIP has many other features that make it a better option than ISDN and PSTN; such as free internal calls, virtual hunt landline and mobile groups, and zero line rental costs.

To find out more about how your business can switch to VoIP, feel free to visit our service page or contact our support team on 0208 166 4540